257 Tasting Notes

76

VERY expansive when brewed. One teaspoon will expand to fill a 1/3 cup strainer.
An excellent Earl Grey. Decaffination hasn’t seemed to take any of the flavor, and of course double bergamot is never a bad thing, is it?
This is a good late night treat.

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77

2nd infusion – decidely weaker. Woodsy flavor. Definitely overbrewed the the first cup, leaving nothing notable for a second. (Edit: I take that back, once it cooled down enough to get a full mouthful, the flavor was there. Much lighter than the first cup. Definitely overbrewed the first cup!)

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75
drank Orange & Spice by Lipton
257 tasting notes

This more for completeness….
I drink this, with a dollop of honey and a slice of real lemon, whenever I start to get a sore throat. Call it psychology or whatever, but it makes me feel better and I swear it makes the sore throat go away faster!

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77

1 teaspoon (as opposed to tsp) about 4 minutes in moderately hot water. Brews dark and flavorful. Slightly tannic…probably should have taken it out a little past 3 minutes. A bit heavy in the mouth (not bad, just different than say…a Ceylon), but the flavor last a good 30+ seconds after swallowing. Think Irish/Scottish breakfast teas. (Edit: don’t let this one go cold…not as good)

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79

Very light taste, not acidic or tannic. Lightly rust colored brew

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94

This is my daily cup of morning tea. This is not Lipton’s (for the Americans)…this is something in a class all its own. Brewed lightly, it is a peaceful, sipping tea. It has the character to be brewed dark and makes a wonderful iced tea. It is possible to over brew this tea, in which case you will get an astringent, biting flavor that is not too pleasant…but takes to watering down (as in iced tea) to save it.

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drank Hu-Kwa by Mark T. Wendell
257 tasting notes

This tea is has very strong, smokey flavors. I found the smokiness to be overpowering and I did not care for it. Victorian Afternoon, by Mark T. Wendell is similar, but not overpowered with smoke.
In deference to those who love this sort of tea, I have removed my low rating.

Ed Fladung

I don’t think it is appropriate to rate a type of tea you don’t like. To say that it has very strong smokey flavors is a description of every type of Labsong Souchong tea. If that is a type of tea you usually like then a comment and rating is appropriate, otherwise your rating is meaningless.

Atacdad

Respectfully, I disagree. I found Hu Kwa to have no other quality worth commenting on other than the heavy smoke. On the other hand, MTW’s Victorian Afternoon, which is smokey, has, in my opinion, a more balanced approach. In the latter case, I believe the smoke complements an otherwise fine, high grade tea. In Hu Kwa’s case, I couldn’t get anything from it other than smoke. I should add that my opinion is not based on a single tasting, but rather several tasting from at least three different batches, spread out over a decade. My rating is just that…my opinion of where the tea ranks, relative to the other teas I have tasted. I understand your point, but if I ranked only teas I liked, it wouldn’t give a balanced view of what I do and do not like.

godofcoffee

I’m inclined to agree with Ed Fladung. E.g., I don’t like coffee; therefore, I should stay away from coffee forums, instead of frequenting them and rating everything as 26 for “very strong coffee flavours”. Lapsang Suchong has a strong smoky flavour, and the point of the rating system is for people who enjoy Lapsang Suchong to give relevant advice to other drinkers.

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Profile

Bio

I’m not much active on Steepster because I haven’t been trying a lot of different tea lately. I have been buying M.T. Wendell’s Cheericup Ceylon because it is my favorite. That said, gifts of tea drop in every once in awhile and I try to bring my impressions here.
I am unashamedly stealing this rating description from Morgana.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

Location

Austin, Texas

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